Disciples unable to cure a demon-possessed child

Disciples unable to cure a demon-possessed child

 

Mark 9:17-20 『And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answered him, and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.』

In the Gospel of Mark, it is expressed as a child possessed by a demon, but in the Gospel of Matthew, it is expressed as “a child suffering from epilepsy” in 17:15-16.『Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for Ofttimes he fell into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.』“Falling into the water” means one who must die to sin, and “falling into the fire” means one who must be burned by the old man (soul). It means someone who must die. In other words, as an example in the Gospel of Mark, a person possessed by a demon is a sinner trapped in the dirt and under the control of a demon.

In Matthew 17, Jesus said that a man brought to him a man suffering from epilepsy, but the disciples were unable to cure him. So he brought the child to Jesus, and Jesus healed him. When the disciples asked, “Why can’t we heal?” he answered, “faithless and perverse generation,” and in verse 20, “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove henceforth to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.』

Jesus said that the reason the disciples could not cure epilepsy was because they did not have the faith of a mustard seed. Faith is connected to the death and resurrection of the cross. “Faith as small as a mustard seed” is the faith of believers united in the death and resurrection of the cross. In reality, there will not be that many people who believe in union with the death and resurrection of the cross. Even if there are people who believe in present resurrection, there will be very few who believe in present resurrection.

『And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove henceforth place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.』

Faith is the belief that one died on the cross and was resurrected. If the believer believes in the present resurrection, the old temple (this mountain) is moved away in the believer's heart. So, if you tell them to move that mountain (new temple) from there to here, it will be moved. God does this. Those who believe in present resurrection will have a new temple built in their hearts, and Christ will return to their hearts, so believers will also receive the power of God. That power is the power to cure illness, forgive sins, and give freedom from demons. Therefore, the reason his disciples were unable to heal the demon-possessed and the epileptic was because the power of resurrection did not come upon them.

Those who do not have the power of present resurrection remain sinners deserving of death on the cross. That is why the disciples become faithless and perverse generation. Jesus told his disciples three times that he would die on the cross and be resurrected three days later, but no one listened. Still they become faithless and perverse generation. You might wonder how Jesus could receive the power of resurrection before he died on the cross, but because Jesus was given power by God, his disciples could receive power directly while he was alive. However, because there was no expectation of resurrection at all, the power could not come to them.

 

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